


will-o'-the-wisp

by gochu_gochu



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bears, Castiel and Dean Winchester in Love, Cute Castiel/Dean Winchester, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fluff, Forests, Foxes, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Wilderness, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:21:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21649732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gochu_gochu/pseuds/gochu_gochu
Summary: Dean and Cas are reincarnated as forest creatures who find their way around eventually ending up together.
Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	will-o'-the-wisp

Winter was approaching. The days were getting mellow, and wind was getting chilly and crisp. The leaves on the trees were gently transforming from an emerald green to varying hues of yellow and crimson. The leaves were lying on the ground, strewn haphazardly, covering the green, moist, mossy soil with an infinite carpet of red.

The deer were feasting on all the remaining pastures that will be blanketed by a thick layer of snow in the coming months. When winter would draw close, there won't be much left to graze. The bucks were aggressively scraping their antlers against the trees and the does were slowly stepping into oestrus. The atmosphere smelled heavy and hormonal, with the fragrance of masculinity wafting through the crisp, autumn wind.

Dean was going about his business, waiting for an opportunity to wreak havoc. He was digging his nose in the grass, sniffing for a scent of a nice, big, fat rodent to eat. Dean was a fine specimen, he was petite for a fox, with dainty black feet and bright orange fur. He had a long brown stripe stretching from the back of his ears to the end of his tail. One of his ears was slightly discolored; his ears were pointy and twitchy. He walked with a hop in his step, merry and joyous, as his short legs scurried across the forest floor.

Dean heard water. Gallons and gallons of water gushing over smooth, round rocks and eventually meandering across the forest terrain, like some sort of ancient serpentine creature. The water was cold, clear and filled to the brim with fatty winter fish. Drool escaped Dean's mouth when he thought of the delicious, delicious fish. His ears, pointed attentively at the direction of the sound of flowing water, led him the way. His feet hopped and skipped and transported the curious fox to where he wanted to go.

The forest stretched across acres of mountainous terrain. The bears lived on caves on higher ground, secluded from the moderately flat foothills where there were pastures which rabbits, mice, deer and occasionally farm animals fed on. The higher ground on the east suddenly broke off to the winter sea, and formed gigantic cliffs which were home to many a sea bird. The largest river ran right through the middle of the forest, with rivulets splitting away from the main body of water and forming rapids as the body aggressively flowed from the hills to the plains.

Castiel was hungry. He climbed down from his cave-home to feast on fresh salmon coming back home from the sea to breed. The salmon swam against the flow of the water, swishing their muscular tails quickly and intensely, trying to keep their balance as the water simultaneously tried to disorientate and knock them off balance. They swam from the sea through the deep water of the main river and over the rocks of the shallow rapids and eventually reached the part which required the most effort to cross.

It was a tiny waterfall, about three feet tall. The salmons' destination lied on the opposite side of the waterfall, against the gush of water hitting them in the face as they swam fiercely and swiftly. The salmon took a moment's rest in the plunge pool before taking the final leap of faith.

The salmon, after a brief period of rest, set it's mind in completing it's journey again. It charged up it's tail, ready to leap above the surface of the water and into oblivion. It prepared it's tail for one last time and gave it one, nice, big swing.

And there it was! In the air! Soaring!

As it was just about to land, it was snatched from mid-air by a bear's claws.That was the last time the salmon ever saw the light.

Castiel dropped the dead fish on the nearby rocks and picked it up in his jaws when it saw a face peering at him from behind some bushes on the other side of the stream.

The face was small and orange, with a fuzzy snout protruding out from the shrubbery at the smell of the fresh, yummy fish.

Castiel growled at the tiny face, but soon realised that the fox meant no harm to him. He gave a low woof and nudged the animal to come closer. 

Dean stood up from where he was crouching, and yapped and began wagging his tail. He stepped out into the clearing on the bank and hopped across the shallow rapids. The bear, with a slow swipe pushed the dead fish, still flopping, away from him on the smooth, cold, dry rocks to the small canid. This jostled the pebbles below, and set them into motion, which startled the fox. He backed away in fear and stood awkwardly in a crouched position, eye contact unbroken with the herculean, black, fuzzy bear. The fox hissed at the unsuspecting bear threateningly.

In the blink of an eye, Dean watched Castiel bend down and clutch the salmon in his mouth, and bound across the winter-chilled rocks and onto the frozen moss at the periphery of the woods and into the bare autumn forest. The bear turned behind once, his moist blue eyes staring into the fox's pleading eyes before disappearing in the trees.

Dean guessed that he'd have to just stick to rats and berries for a while.

Fox territory was just downstream, a little far from the woods, and closer to the low lying delta. The creatures of the forest meeting again was easier said than done.

Castiel had barely stepped out of the safety of the caves and hills, but the wrath of winter spirit was being directed towards the summit of the highest mountains. Mountain-dwelling bears got the worst of the blow and were forced to emigrate descend to the foothills to survive. It was hibernation season, but Cas wasn't adequately prepared to depart from the world temporarily. Cas' tummy rumbled, but where could he find food in the dead of winter? He wandered pointlessly, without any aim or direction, looking for grub or at least a cubby hole where he could settle down and sleep his hunger away. 

As Cas dragged his colossal, furry body in the startling white snow through the low lying jungle, his scent wafted through the icy wind and reached the curious nose of the miniature orange creature. 

The fox's bright green eyes caught the sight of the snow-dusted, brown mass of fur traversing aimlessly through the winter woods. Cas was drowsy, his eyes drooped with heaviness and his legs wobbled with fatigue. The fox stared at the bear from behind a tree at a distance. He was apologetic for the way their first interaction went and wanted to make amends. 

Dean approached the almost-unconscious bear and nudged him gently with his furry snout. 

This gesture startled the bear, who's sudden reaction made Dean back away cautiously. The bear, then, reverting back to his drowsiness-ridden state, did not pay much attention to the empathetic fox. The fox, head-butted the bear to shake away his sleepiness. The bear stood up at once, ears erect in attention. He sniffed the fox to confirm his familiarity.

The fox head-butted him again, coaxing the bear to start moving in the direction the fox wanted him to go. The bear started walking. 

This continued for a while, till they reached a heavily wooded area of the forest. It was situated on slightly higher ground, and had large rocks jutting out from the earth in a U-shaped formation, forming somewhat of a shelter from the frosty wind and snow. The bear entered the strange formation at once and settled down. The soil enclosed in these rocks was warm and soft, and created somewhat of a nuisance for the bear, because it got stuck in the hollow pads of Cas' paws; but it was better than being out in the open, in the cold.

The bear instantly curled up and buried his muzzle in the warmth of his own belly fur. He felt gratitude towards the kind-hearted fox. He looked at Dean, with gleaming eyes filled to the brim with tears of happiness. 

Dean's work wasn't over yet. Cas was still hungry, he hadn't eaten for weeks and Dean knew that in order for the bear to survive this winter, he needed to eat. Dean rushed to his burrow on the other side of the forest and dug out his food he preserved in a hole under the ground for him to eat during the wintertime. Dean ran as fast as he could, all the while clutching a mouthful of grass and berries, trying not to spill any of it. 

Dean finally reached Cas' resting spot and dropped the food in front of him to eat. The bear looked at the fox and lowered his eyelids in thankfulness Then, he wolfed down the food that the fox brought for him, closed his eyes, and promptly went off to sleep.

It started snowing. Heavily. Inches and inches of fresh, soft, cold, white snow, pouring down from the dreary skies every minute. The weather was in no condition to be travelled in, leaving the fox unable to travel a half-forest's distance back to his burrow. The fox stared at the sky as snow fell from the dull, dreary clouds and turned to look at the bear dozing off comfortably.

He walked to Cas and curled up in his belly fur, burying his face in his fluffy tail. Cas was warm and cozy, and was perfect for a snowy afternoon's sleep. 

_Dean wanted the snow to never end, because he was asleep, happy, and close to Cas' warm self._

**Author's Note:**

> “Fire that's closest kept burns most of all.”
> 
> -William Shakespeare


End file.
